Fashion Buyer

Choose and purchase the items a fashion retail store will sell.

What does a Fashion Buyer do?

A fashion buyer selects and orders the apparel and accessories that will be stocked in retail stores. As a fashion buyer, you typically specialize in a certain area such as shoes or accessories, but your job responsibilities are the same no matter which field you choose.

Although shopping for a living might sound fantastic, the job of a fashion buyer is not easy. You need a thorough understanding of your company’s brand and values, and the ability to price and negotiate different products. You add to that spotting trends and a comfort with consumer psychology. Then you bring everything together to make purchasing agreements on items that embody your brand while guiding it in new, fresh directions that coincide with current and future fashion trends. Oh, and do that within the budget, please.

But if you can do this, what a job! You are paid to travel to fashion shows, negotiate with manufacturers, and study the color and cut predictions for the upcoming seasons. You’re responsible for deciding that this wedge heel will be stocked in brown and pink, but not blue. On the whole, you get to set the style direction for your brand and help dictate what people will be wearing this season.

Unlike a lot of fashion careers, this path is governed more by talent than connections, probably because your work is very easy to evaluate: If your picks sell, than you’ll do well. If not, you might be looking for another position.